Akzo Nobel NV (OTCMKTS:AKZOY) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Akzo Nobel NV (OTCMKTS:AKZOY) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 28,311 shares, an increase of 40.9% from the February 26th total of 20,089 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 268,315 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days. Approximately 0.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on AKZOY shares. Barclays lowered Akzo Nobel from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. UBS Group raised shares of Akzo Nobel to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Akzo Nobel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Akzo Nobel from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Akzo Nobel from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Akzo Nobel Stock Performance

Shares of AKZOY opened at $18.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Akzo Nobel has a one year low of $18.04 and a one year high of $24.52. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $21.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.49.

Akzo Nobel (OTCMKTS:AKZOY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The basic materials company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.07). Akzo Nobel had a net margin of 6.49% and a return on equity of 13.73%. The business had revenue of $2.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Akzo Nobel will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current year.

About Akzo Nobel

Akzo Nobel N.V. is a Dutch multinational company specializing in paints, coatings and specialty chemicals. Established through the 1994 merger of Akzo and Nobel Industries, the company traces its roots back to chemical and saltpeter production in the Netherlands. Today, Akzo Nobel is recognized as one of the world’s leading coatings manufacturers, serving both decorative and industrial markets.

The company’s business is organized into three principal segments: Decorative Paints, Performance Coatings and Specialty Chemicals.